How capable is a 2wd truck with a locker

[ollie]

I am not familiar with that but it sounds handy I'll do a little reading on that. Thank you.

This is a first time for me running one. I go out to the desert quite a bit. For a daily driver these are very reliable systems.

Detroit Truetrac differential

The Detroit Truetrac is a helical-gear style limited-slip differential that maximizes wheel traction and enhances driving and handling characteristics.

www.eaton.com

FAQs | Detroit Truetrac | Differentials | Eaton

www.eaton.com

And unbiased:





And yes there are failures:

 

[Rmay635703]

I’ve never owned an AWD suburban or pickup and never will.

If said vehicle has traction control you don’t need positive traction.

Further a 2wd suburban or suv is generally better for boat launches than a pickup unless you put 200-400lbs of sand bags in Rear

Though I can say I’ve never had an issue, certainly never been pulled into a channel, did said person not have brakes?

I’ve always figured those who own 4wd in Wisconsin were pussies with deep pockets , mountain passes you might have a point but 99% of those driving AWD never need it.

 

[philipp10]

How big a boat are you talking about? Makes a huge difference.

 

[jhellwig]

Knowing how to drive and knowing that there isn’t 4wd to try to fix your stupid helps a lot. 2wd trucks are light so on a single cab not having the weight up front helps it get through stuff. Proper tires do more good that 4wd ever will.

 

[UncleDave]

Quite the commercial

We see a guy on dry land hitched up to a boat at the foot of a small hill.

He spins his rear wheels.

So the guy puts it in 4 WD (you can see the front left wheel spin) then moves forward 10 feet on dry dirt with a 16ft outboard.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

I've never towed a boat, but my 2WD Chevy shortbox with traction control and the stock Eaton locker does pretty well in snow.

If I remember correctly, the locker was required to get the traction control option. There are times when TC isn't ideal (washboard roads, RR crossings, that one stoplight with lumpy asphalt) but it does what it's supposed to in the snow and rain.

 

[samven]

So lets be clear, If a boat can drag a 2WD down a ramp it will drag a 4WD down the same ramp. There is NO difference in the braking or stopping ability. The 4WD may be better if traction is available up front but if its traction difference side to side a locker will be more efficient. People launched big heavy wooden boats 50 years ago with nothing but 2WD trucks and big boat haulers with 5500 series trucks almost never have 4WD. Carry a bag of play sand in the bed if you have to use a slippery ramp and spread it around behind and in front of your tires.

 

[wander2039]

We've had 3 trucks in our family with limited slip, anti-slip or whatever term the manufacturer uses. Some of the best trucks, we've never owned a 4wd. Put your foot to floor almost to the floor and you're moving. I just transplanted a 9.25 anti-slip in the Dakota because of tired of not having it. You could apply your parking brake lightly in those low speed occasional needs.

 

[UncleDave]

So lets be clear, If a boat can drag a 2WD down a ramp it will drag a 4WD down the same ramp. There is NO difference in the braking or stopping ability. The 4WD may be better if traction is available up front but if its traction difference side to side a locker will be more efficient. People launched big heavy wooden boats 50 years ago with nothing but 2WD trucks and big boat haulers with 5500 series trucks almost never have 4WD. Carry a bag of play sand in the bed if you have to use a slippery ramp and spread it around behind and in front of your tires.

It's not about being "dragged down a ramp", but the inability to pull the boat out of the water and up a wet slick ramp.

With your rear wheels in the water you cant spread sand anywhere that will be helpful.

 

[Andrew1972]

Not very capable when you engage parking brake (rear wheels only) and back your boat off. They can pull since only rear wheels lock. 4wd and parking brake does 4 or someone holding brake pedal down does 4 also.

 

[samven]

It's not about being "dragged down a ramp", but the inability to pull the boat out of the water and up a wet slick ramp.

With your rear wheels in the water you cant spread sand anywhere that will be helpful.

If its a steep ramp your rear wheels should not be near the water, that only happens on a shallow ramp.

 

[UncleDave]

If its a steep ramp your rear wheels should not be near the water, that only happens on a shallow ramp.

for sure long shallows dunk the rears, early tundras had a diff breather that was easy dunked.
These ramps are almost always linear and easy to determine when you hear the exhaust burble.

Ocean ramps get weird with tides and are sometimes not a consistent but variable slope that will give you nonlinear dunking.
Often times your rear wheels aren't in the water but are on a bed of wet algae you can barely stand on yourself.

Marina del Rey( in this pict) gets your rear wheels wet pretty reliably. Made famous as Gilligans departure Marina.
The boats 29 feet and I need 4wd to pull it out at low tide.

 

[Too3zln]

It honestly depends on the driver. I chose a TruTrac for my truck. An open diff was ok but having to keep using the E-brake to get unstuck was not much fun. For what you are doing a TruTrac will more than serve your needs. Best of all it is seamless on the highway and in corners.

Lockers are too much of a pain for a daily driver. And you can snap axles if you are not mindful.

Or a g80 gear set. A couple good videos on the net of some people grenading their g80s.

 

[dareo]

2WD is fine unless your talking about boat launching or sandy areas.

 

[Hermann]

In the first two winters in my '18 F150 2wd w/ electronic locker has not got me stuck yet. The biggest snow has been only 5 inches. I had to start on a slope of slushy and packed snow several times and it provided sufficient forward progress.

 

[supton]

Locker might be fine on boat ramps but I think I'd rather have 4WD for snow duty. I'd rather spin one tire and then kick into 4WD (after no longer spinning!) than to kick the rear around. Fishtailing is fun, but only when it's intentional.

I dunno, I get the temptation to go 2WD but 4WD, despite being rarely needed, is often worth its weight when it is. Adding weight can help the 2WD but you are dragging that extra weight around all of the time and technically it needs to be properly secured (in case of accident). I've found that I've had to use 4WD in summer months, wet grass can hang my truck up too--it's not just for winter. YMMV.

 

[dadto2]

Tires tires tires. I've had two 4x4 trucks. My first truck and my current truck are RWD. All four of them lived in snowy Rochester, NY. The best snow improvement I've ever made is the proper tires. My current RWD launches the 3500 lb boat at all the freshwater ramps around here without incident. Got this truck super cheap because nobody around here will even consider a RWD full size with a V6. I think it's my favorite of the four...

 

[andyd]

Ollie, is the TruTrac another name for an LSD ?

 

[2EHA]

Yes the Eaton Detroit TruTrac is a type of 100% lockup capable LSD. In the 4x4 world we just call them Detroit Lockers. They’re handier than an air or e-locker to a certain extent and will usually get you out of trouble that involves one wheel in the air.

I had one in the front and rear of my Range Rover. It also had a Borg-Warner center LSD that was permanently locked because of a seized viscous clutch. Even after I changed the center to a manually locked type the detroits still liked to scrub on sharp turns. On the street the ability to go open is definitely a preferable option.

 

[super20dan]

the locker on my 99 siverado is plenty capable-so much that it severly limits my fun with the powerful first year 5.3. cant burn rubber or do powerslides